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Colts had Luck, but Ravens get win

Baltimore

Ray Lewis takes a lap around the field after the Ravens win. Photo: Getty Images

THE Baltimore Ravens, with veteran Ray Lewis back from injury, beat the Indianapolis Colts 24-9 to reach the second round of the NFL play-offs.

Lewis, who was playing for the first time since he tore his right triceps in mid-October - and days after saying he would retire at the end of the season - notched 13 tackles.

He led a Ravens defence that held the Colts to three field goals by Adam Vinatieri and spoiled the post-season debut of rookie quarterback Andrew Luck.

Baltimore's Anquan Boldin makes a reception in the third quarter against Cassius Vaughn. Photo: Getty Images

Ravens defender Paul Kruger also excelled, registering 2½ of the Ravens' three sacks of Luck and causing one of three turnovers by forcing a fumble.

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''It was truly electric,'' Kruger said. ''We had the crowd going crazy. We had more media than ever and we had Ray getting your mind right, and there were so many reasons to fight on and play with the passion that was required.''

Luck was one of three rookie quarterbacks in action on the second day of the NFL's wildcard play-offs, and it was Seattle's Russell Wilson who emerged with a victory, leading the Seahawks to a 24-14 victory over the Redskins in a National Conference contest in Washington.

Wilson outplayed fellow rookie-of-the-year candidate Robert Griffin III, who has battled a late-season knee injury and was held to just 84 yards with two touchdowns and an interception before his right knee gave out in the fourth quarter and he limped out of the contest.

''I think everybody could see after our first quarter that he wasn't exactly the same,'' coach Mike Shanahan said of his decision to leave Griffin in the game after he appeared to aggravate his injured knee, on which he was wearing a brace, in the first quarter. ''I still thought he could go in there and make the plays he was capable of making.''

Griffin, whose athleticism has made him a sensation in his rookie year, admitted he didn't know just how serious his injury was, but he wasn't sorry that he played hurt.

''Every time you go out there between those lines, you're putting your life, your career, every single ligament in your body in jeopardy,'' he said.

Marshawn Lynch rushed for 131 yards and the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter as the Seahawks fought back from an early 14-0 deficit.

''I was worried about the tempo of the game catching us a little bit,'' Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said about his team's slow start.

''We just weren't there with the tempo at the start of the game.'' However, his team scored the last 24 points of the game to advance to a second-round meeting with the Atlanta Falcons in Atlanta at the weekend.

The defeat was the end of an emotional season for the Colts, who thrived despite the inexperience of Luck and the lengthy absence of head coach Chuck Pagano due to leukaemia. Pagano, who spent four years as an assistant coach in Baltimore, returned in time for the final regular-season game and the play-off against his old team.